Kate Dore: “This week, a Colorado-based couple discharged $200,000 of private student loans in a bankruptcy case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The appellate court said the couple’s loans—which were issued by loan giant Navient—didn’t meet the Tax Code’s definition of “qualified student loans.””

“The reason was that the cost wasn’t based on an “educational benefit” and didn’t cover the “cost of attendance” at their school. Therefore, the couple’s loans weren’t exempt from discharge in bankruptcy.”

The Wall Street Journal adds “the ruling has a broader import in that it will force courts to be more careful in deliberating whether or not certain student loans are dischargeable.”

Jenny Gross in the New York Times: “If you decided to ride out the pandemic at your out-of-state vacation house or with your parents in the suburbs, you may be in for an unpleasant reality: a hefty tax bill.”

“Navneet Garodia, 35, a financial services professional, has an apartment in Jersey City, N.J., but moved in July to his in-laws’ house in Florida so that he and his family could have more space. He plans to reduce his New Jersey tax payments to account for the days he has worked from Florida, a state that does not impose income tax on residents.”

Andrew Pentis, writing for Student Loan Hero: “Black Americans are especially affected by their outstanding student loans, according to our survey of 1,550 borrowers.”

Key Finding: “Black borrowers are among the most likely to regret taking out student loans: 45% regret borrowing altogether, while 31% wish they had borrowed less.”

“For those targeting significant equity allocations, I’ve shown that the impact of fine-tuning the stock/bond mix gets swamped by the wide range of potential outcomes,” writes Joe Tomlinson.

“There are many ways advisors can provide value for clients other than focusing on asset allocation.”

Michael Batnick: “The soaring stock market coupled with the soaring unemployment has pushed income and wealth inequality to extraordinary levels. The United States has 13 million fewer jobs than it did in February. Meanwhile, last week Jeff Bezos’s net worth eclipsed $200 billion.”

Also, “a cocktail of the quarantine, free commissions, and stocks going vertical has led to an explosion of retail trading like we haven’t seen since 1999.”

Divorce is a big fear in the FIRE community. When wealthy celebrities get divorced, it’s no different. In this article, a lawyer breaks down Dr. Dre’s wife’s request for $2 million per month in spousal support.

“Davis explained that Young’s request suggests that $2 million per month is “the carrying cost for the property that she wants to remain in while the divorce is pending, plus all of her expenses, and perhaps even the children’s expenses if they spend time with her, or are quarantining with her.”

“Wednesday’s sale of $35 billion in 10-year notes, followed by a $23 billion auction of 30-year bonds the next day, will test the market’s appetite for longer-dated maturities following last month’s lackluster response to 20- and 30-year sales,” reports Bloomberg.

“The worst week for U.S. equities since June has ramped up demand for haven assets, pressuring the 30-year yield lower over much of last week as steepener trades were pared.”

Bloomberg: “With its international fleet grounded until at least mid-2021, Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd. is renting out one of its Boeing Co. Dreamliners for sightseeing trips over the southern ice cap.”

“Antarctica Flights is chartering the plane and crew from Qantas for seven trips between November and February. The flights last between 12 and 14 hours, and a business-class seat with full in-flight service costs A$7,999 ($5,850).”

The Economist: “Calculations from Goldman Sachs, a bank, suggest that a 15 percentage-point rise in the share of the population that wears masks would reduce the daily growth of cases by about one percentage point. That obviates the need for lockdown measures that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP.”

“According to our reckoning, an American wearing a mask for a day is helping prevent a fall in GDP of $56.14. Not bad for something that you can buy for about 50 cents apiece.”

Juliet Schor on the Bloomberg Businessweek podcast talks about her new book After the Gig.

“When the “sharing economy” launched a decade ago, proponents claimed that it would transform the experience of work—giving earners flexibility, autonomy, and a decent income. It was touted as a cure for social isolation and rampant ecological degradation. But this novel form of work soon sprouted a dark side: exploited Uber drivers, neighborhoods ruined by Airbnb, racial discrimination, and rising carbon emissions.”